Feng Yao finally pulled out Zhang Lu’s phone. The latest model, the iPhone X. Something she had seen countless times in advertisements but could never afford. She gently caressed the smooth surface of the phone and glanced at the sleeping Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu was still fast asleep. She seemed to be having a wonderful dream, a slight smile curving at the corners of her mouth. Looking at her peaceful face, a twinge of conflict arose in Feng Yao’s heart, but it was quickly extinguished.
‘I’m not trying to kill her, I’m not,’ she told herself, ‘I just want to find a way to survive.’
‘And if I don’t do it today…’ She looked at the empty pill bottle on Zhang Lu’s bedside, ‘by tomorrow, there won’t be a chance.’
Having reassured herself, she felt a bit more justified, and with the phone in hand, she walked towards the attached bathroom. As she passed Peng Xuan, she lightened her steps; the plump middle-aged woman was sleeping soundly, her loud snoring from the night had ceased.
Sitting on the toilet, Feng Yao unlocked Zhang Lu’s phone and silenced it.
“0617”
She skillfully entered the birthday of Zhang Lu’s little idol, and the screen lit up in response. Feng Yao held her breath, pausing for a moment, the surroundings were utterly silent, not a sound.
The absolute quiet enveloped Feng Yao like a safety suit, giving her more courage. Despite having made up her mind earlier, her fingers trembled slightly as she began to operate.
‘I don’t want to kill her, I don’t.’ Feng Yao exhaled, closed her eyes, ‘A little patience prevents great chaos, a little patience prevents great chaos…’
She thought of those decisive protagonists in thrilling stories and drew some strength from them. Taking a deep breath, she hurriedly opened the app.
The Ghost Mall wasn’t open yet; it only operated between eight in the morning and midnight. Remembering the reckless newcomer from last night, a flicker of curiosity sparked in Feng Yao. She knew that playing the fool to catch the wise was a timeless tactic and didn’t believe anyone would cause such a ruckus without any backing.
‘He’s probably the experienced one, quite charismatic, and good-looking too.’ At this point, Feng Yao was lost in her thoughts, or perhaps the act of secretly harming a “friend” forced her to find something else to fill her mind, squeezing out the insignificant space that guilt could occupy.
With her mind in a jumble, Feng Yao dismissed the pop-up ad warning about “Beware of online scams, severe punishment for criminals” that appeared as soon as she entered the mall, and directly accessed “My Space.”
Earlier that night, she had already explored this app thoroughly. While others were discussing products, she had been observing other content. In the first game, she had encountered an experienced player who told her, “The game may have many flashy rules, but those are just surface phenomena. Look deeper to see the essence; the escape tricks lie within the essence.”
Because of this, she discovered a gray, insignificant, tiny “Transfer” button in the app under “My Space – Balance,” reminiscent of the button to refund deposits for ofo bikes.
Taking advantage of everyone’s distraction, she had secretly tried to make a transfer. The transfer required knowing the other party’s phone number and name, and in addition, the other party had to confirm the receipt.
In past games, she had only met strangers. Not to mention phone numbers, some people’s names were even fake.
But this time, her luck was truly remarkable!
‘I just want to survive, and spending 1500 yuan isn’t a big deal,’ Feng Yao told herself, ‘The prices for safe items are too low; the few I’m interested in from the Third-class items don’t even add up to 998 yuan. To spend 998, I must buy dangerous items… I’ll just transfer 500 to Zhang Lu; there shouldn’t be any problem.’
Then she would hide the phone and secretly buy a dangerous item for Zhang Lu… She shoved the remaining thoughts back into her mind.
The air in the bathroom grew cold, and small beads of water formed on the mirror. Completely focused on her phone, Feng Yao was oblivious to this change. Overwhelming excitement made her body heat up, her palms sweaty, and she didn’t even notice the vague color blocks gradually appearing in the empty mirror.
‘Come on, come on,’ Feng Yao anxiously waited for the app on her phone to open. She hurriedly clicked into the transfer page, as if the faster she did it, the more correct she would be. After entering Zhang Lu’s phone number, she wrote 500 in the amount field and pressed confirm.
A bouncing window popped up on the page: “Beware of online scams, be cautious when transferring to unfamiliar accounts.”
Feng Yao impatiently dismissed it, but a second window appeared: “Beware of large transfers, protect your financial security.”
“Damn! Is this ever going to end?!” Feng Yao clicked it away again.
A third window popped up: “For your and your property’s safety, please confirm your conscience is intact before proceeding.”
From the bedroom just a wall away, sounds began to emerge, and Feng Yao grew increasingly anxious, fearing Peng Xuan had woken up.
“Get lost!” Feng Yao mindlessly clicked on the window.
“A transfer fee of 2% will be charged; please confirm the operation.”
“Confirm!”
With all her anticipation, the transfer finally succeeded. She hurriedly picked up Zhang Lu’s phone again to confirm the receipt.
“The network is too slow; the receipt is loading,” Zhang Lu’s phone also displayed a window.
Drenched in sweat, Feng Yao didn’t realize the sound was not just coming from outside the room but also from within the bathroom. On the foggy mirror, the originally blurry color blocks gradually became clear.
It was a bloodied, mangled face!
“You have completed the transfer; please give a five-star rating!”
Looking at the screen that showed the transfer was complete, Feng Yao let out a sigh of relief.
It’s nothing serious; after all, she just needed to help Zhang Lu as much as possible… She sighed, thinking without looking back. However, it would have been best to wait a few days before making the transfer; why did it suddenly have to be today, today of all days…
How could her emotions suddenly spiral out of control, suddenly feeling that she had to transfer today?
Like being splashed with cold water, a jolt ran through Feng Yao’s mind as Zhang Lu’s smile flashed before her eyes.
The fog on the mirror thickened, and Feng Yao suddenly looked up, terrified to see a flash of red.
What is this…
A wet sensation brushed against her face, and Feng Yao trembled, twisting the muscles in her face but dared not turn around.
“I’ve come to collect the transfer fee!”
That was the last thing she heard, a malicious voice.
